1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of evaporative cooling devices. In particular, the invention relates to a lightweight, extremely durable evaporative cooler having a cabinet which will not rust, corrode, chip, or fade; which provides a highly efficient non-turbulent air flow; and which provides evaporative cooling pad support means which provides a higher than herebefore effective cooling area from a given evaporative cooling pad.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Cooling of building interiors by means of evaporative coolers is well known in the prior art. In that field, Adam D. Goettl appears to be one of the most prolific inventors. Of his many patents, several are listed here as good examples of prior art evaporative cooler construction techniques. These are U.S. Pat. No. 3,147,319 issued 1 Sept. 1964; Pat. No. 3,287,003 issued 22 Nov. 1966; Pat. No. 4,045,523 issued 30 Aug. 1977; and Pat. No. 4,080,410 issued 21 Mar. 1978.
All of the known prior art, including that of Goettl, lend themself to a series of common problems in the operation and maintenance of evaporative coolers. All of the cabinetry is comprised of a multiplicity of parts joined by welds or screw fastening or the like. Such an assemblage provides a plurality of seams from which water may leak or cavities in which water may become entrapped. Water leaking through to the exterior of the cooler leaves unsightly deposits and causes deterioration of the surface finish of the cooler.
Most cooler cabinets are fabricated of sheet metal which is given to corroding in the highly humid environment provided by the interior of the evaporative cooler. Further, corrosion often takes place as a result of water entrapped within various hidden cavities formed in assembling the cooler cabinet.
A not unfamiliar sight on rooftops is an evaporative cooler having a discolored exterior with paint flaking therefrom.
In the assembly of prior art evaporative coolers, holes are often punched through the sheet metal to allow the flow of water through said holes. Other holes are punched to accept various fastening devices utilized in assembling the cabinet. Whether drilled or punched, such holes are seldom, if ever, smoothly finished and are left with a burred edge. This burring actually inhibits the free flow of water through such holes and further, provides a means for entrapping water around the various fasteners in the assembly, which increases the probability of corrosion occurring at the site of such fasteners.
In addition to water leaking from various seams in the structure of the cooler cabinet, much of the structural elements of the cabinetry design were such as to induce the flow of water to the outside of the cabinet. Openings in the sides of most prior art evaporative cooler cabinets are provided with louvers. The louver panel over each opening projects outward from the cabinet and at a slight downward angle. Moisture condensing on the inside walls of such a louvered opening is encouraged by the disposition of the louver panel to move outward and down to the edge of the louver panel from whence the condensate drips downward frequently splashing the outside of the cabinet as well as the surrounding area and leaving unsightly mineral deposits in its wake.
Cooling with an evaporative cooler is achieved by passing air through a moistened evaporative cooling pad. Prior art attempts at supporting evaporative cooling pads in the flow of air, required to achieve evaporation, frequently block a significant portion of the air flow and thereby reduce the effective cooling area of a given size evaporative cooling pad. The combination of louvered openings and evaporative pad support means frequently caused turbulence within the air flow further reducing the effectiveness of the cooling. A laminar air flow through a cooling pad having a support offering minimal restriction to such air flow is to be desired for most effective cooling.
A sound familiar to many residential areas is the noise created within rooftop evaporative coolers and amplified by the resonant metallic cabinets and the wealth of individual elements of which such cabinets are comprised. Such noises not only prove aggravating to neighbors but can be extremely noisy to residents of the building being cooled by such rattle-trap coolers. The amplified noise and resonant vibrations are passed down through the cooling ducts to the interior of the building to impinge harmfully on the sensibilities of the tenant therein.
Finally, it may be noted, too, that maintenance is often most difficult in evaporative coolers fabricated in accord with prior art teachings. The metallic cabinetry components tend to corrode and stick. Under the heating effects of the sun's rays, the various cabinetry elements expand and dissassembly of the cabinet becomes, at best, a trying experience.
The need is thus seen to exist for a new, improved means of constructing an evaporative cooler.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an evaporative cooler which overcomes all of the disadvantages of prior art coolers including those disadvantages such as set out above.
It is a particular objective of the invention to provide an evaporative cooler having a cabinet which will not rust, fade, corrode, or chip.
It is a further objective of the invention to provide an evaporative cooler having a cabinet comprised of a minimum number of parts which may be assembled without the need for welding, rivets or other such fastening devices.
It is a specific objective of the invention to provide an evaporative cooler which provides for the free unimpeded flow of water to desired disposition points and which discourages the flow of moisture to undesirable destinations, especially inhibiting such flow to the exterior of said evaporative cooler.
It is a further specific objective of the invention to provide minimal restriction to air flow to the evaporative cooling pads of the cooler and to do so in a manner which will result in a large effective cooling area for any given size cooling pad.
Another particular objective of the invention is to provide a cabinet which has outstanding sound absorption qualities so as to provide for quieter operation of said cooler, and in doing so, to provide a cabinet of excellent heat insulative qualities so as to provide a cooler interior for the evaporative cooler and thereby increase its operating efficiency.
It is an additional objective of the invention to provide for ease of maintenance of the cooler by utilizing materials in the fabrication of the cooling cabinet which material is not given to sticking, corrosion or expansion.
These and other objectives of the invention will be made apparent in the detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.